An Imagination of the Unimaginable
HeartBeats is based on conversations that Nastaran had with a peer facing a terminal illness. How does this woman—like Nastaran, a young mother of two—view life? How does she spend her days? What are her desires? Does she want to leave something behind? Does death mark the end for her, or will she live on in another way?
Nastaran: “Now that I have children of my own, I realize how fragile life is. My fear of death is greater than ever. How to live? In search of answers, I met her.”
Together with the team behind her acclaimed performances Songs for no one and This is not a dance, Nastaran creates a documentary, physical, and visually poetic performance. The woman’s voice, the light, and the music each follow their own heartbeat within a constantly shifting space—one that evokes a world beyond death.
About Nastaran Razawi Khorasani
With Songs for no one, Nastaran received the BNG Bank Theater Prize twice (2020 and 2021). The performance was selected for Het TheaterFestival Vlaanderen 2022 and Theater der Welt in Frankfurt-Offenbach 2023. In 2023, she was nominated for the Gieskes-Strijbis Podium Prize. This is not a dance has been nominated for the VSCD Mime/Performance Prize 2024. Her work is shown both nationally and internationally, including at the Transform Festival in Leeds, Theater Commons Tokyo, Indonesian Dance Festival in Jakarta, and the FOG Festival at the Triennale in Milan. In the coming years, Nastaran will be part of the makers’ community at Theater Rotterdam.
This performance is part of SHIFT, an initiative by Explore the North and Stadsschouwburg De Harmonie. SHIFT presents raw, honest, timely, and disruptive performing arts. You come to SHIFT because you want to understand what’s happening—in your mind, in the world, with others, within yourself, both on a large and small scale. It’s made for curious thinkers and critical dreamers.
Throughout the year, SHIFT offers must-see performances in unexpected places—beyond the usual theater paths. From spoken word to postmodern dance. From theatrical manifestos to poetic requiems. These are works by both emerging and established makers who speak to the present and the future.